The Arcade Fire Strikes Back

The Arcade Fire’s Win Butler isn’t taking any guff from head Flaming Lip Wayne Coyne, who, as we pointed out yesterday, called the Canadian anthem-pushers “pricks,” and said they could go fuck themselves, basically. In his retort, Butler defends his band, saying that the Flaming Lips and the Arcade Fire have only shared a stage once during their tour for Funeral.

Win Butler:

So…I am not sure Wayne is the best judge (based on seeing us play at a couple of festivals) if we are righteous, kind and goodhearted people like The Edge and Justin Timberlake (who I am sure he knows intimately as well). I can’t imagine a reason why we would have been pompous towards The Flaming Lips, a band we have always loved, on that particular night, all those years ago. Unless I was way more jet-lagged then I remember, I hope I was less of a “prick” then telling Rollingstone that a bunch of people I don’t know at all are really assholes.

Mee. Ow. This sissified war of words is the least important thing in the world, which means I care about it. I’m a fan of both of these dudes, though I prefer Coyne and his brand of psychedelic-Midwestern-glam weirdness over Butler’s hang-wrung take-back-the-night anthems. I will say, though, at 48 years old, Coyne has paid his dues and has plenty of indie capital to burn, so if he thinks Win Butler and his medieval bandmates are pricks, then I believe him.